SPRINGFIELD, Ohio—Seven student pilots from the Royal Netherlands Air Force 306th Detachment, located at Springfield Air National Guard Base, graduated their initial qualification training course during an Oct. 10 ceremony at the Hope Hotel and Conference Center on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
After about 15 months of instruction at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, the Dutch students trained with the Ohio Air National Guard for an additional nine months at Springfield Air National Guard Base, also completing training deployments to Alpena, Mich. and Tucson, Ariz.
“It is probably the toughest nine months that they’ll have in their careers,” said Maj. Gen. Harry "A.J." Feucht Jr., Ohio’s assistant adjutant general for Air, who attended the graduation. “There aren’t a whole lot of men and women going through pilot training to be recommended to be fighter pilots. It’s the biggest accomplishment they’ll have professionally.”
U.S. Maj. Joshua Waggoner, scheduling officer for the 306th, gave the invocation.
After dinner, Dutch Capt. Toon van de Graaf, a weapons officer for the 306th, and the evening’s master of ceremonies, introduced Lt. Gen. J.H.M.P. “Jac” Jansen, commander of the Royal Netherlands Air Force.
Jansen made his first visit to Ohio to attend the graduation, and tour the Springfield base. |
“By visiting, I can see with my own eyes the training and the tremendous Air National Guard facilities,” Jansen said. “I’ve also witnessed the tremendous air space here, which is very valuable for training.”
U.S. Lt. Col. Anthony Montecalvo, commander of the 306th, and Dutch Lt. Col. Marco van Praat, the senior national representative, presented certificates and plaques to the graduates.
These graduates will be heading to one of the two main F-16 operating bases in the Netherlands where they will go through mission qualification training.
This is the fifth Dutch class that has graduated from the Springfield course since the detachment’s organization in April 2007.
“The professional ties the Royal Netherlands Air Force, the U.S. Air Force, and the Air National Guard have are very effective and fruitful,” Jansen said.
The current Dutch training mission at Springfield ends in 2010. However, Jansen and Feucht are confident training will continue at Springfield in the future.
“We are working on a new (letter of agreement) to extend the contract here. I expect it to be signed weeks from now,” Jansen said. “The Dutch Air Force needs this place.” |
